She was born without four of her five senses, and this crippling restraint has taken its toll. The loss of sight, smell, taste, and touch.

My poor wife. Her life would never be normal. These limitations had such a strong hold on her emotions, and her body was powerless against the unrelenting difficulties. Fear overwhelmed her thoughts and dreams, every waking moment was spent thrashing. She would never get to wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, or taste its bitter yet satisfying flavor. She had never been able to see anything through her own eyes. Not the early sun rising from the tree tops, or the stars flying across the celestial skies by night. Her pupil was a blank canvas, which would never be painted on, like an ivory blanket draped over her lens. She could not see anything, not even the dark. It is as if no colors even existed in her limited and stifled knowledge. And for the rest of her life, she would never understand what it meant to feel something. I needed to find some way to help my dear wife.

I came to her one evening and presented an idea. I proposed that it might be possible to plug her optic nerve into a computer. Such a daring proposition seemed quite unorthodox, but I was willing to try anything. Her eyes would be replacing the monitor, and she would be able to see everything on my computer. I could show her the different variants of color, the parts of a human body, even pictures from around the world. The possibilities were endless, but I was unsure if her feeble mind could handle such vast knowledge. I would have to introduce things slowly to her. An overload of information could be very harmful.

After many months of testing, I finally did it. With no medical experience I was greatly surprised with my progress. My wife could now see the things on my computer. I was able to attach a wire from my computer to her optic nerve, but I have to admit it was a very unsettling sight. Her empty, white eye was outlined in some dry blood, and a wire hung down her face, from inside the bottom of her socket. Getting the wire attached to her nerve was the most difficult procedure. I carefully removed her eyeball and placed it down on a sanitized, metal tray. I then proceeded to stick tweezers into her socket. Reaching around very carefully I found the optic nerve and gentle pulled it towards the surface. A bit of blood came up as well. Once it was in sight, I attached a small insulated wire, and then returned her eye to its socket. I also plugged a monitor into the computer using a dual link monitor cable. I was then able to guide her through the internet showing and teaching her various material. When she first saw my desktop she almost passed out. My background was a vibrant screenshot of the Grand Canyon. She had never seen such color before, her mind could not process the hues and brightness. All of my work could’ve been thrown out the door over this minute and foolish mistake that I had made. I could’ve killed her right then and there, but instead she somehow adapted. After a brief moment of feeling faint she then overcame the weakness and I explained to her that this was the color orange. Her mind was so much stronger then I had expected, and she quickly understood everything I instilled. Later that night, after she had gone to bed, I went down to the kitchen and bruised my own eye.

The next morning we continued our studies, and she maintained her eager spirits. I couldn’t even keep up with the rate of information she was gaining. She soon went on to browse the internet alone without my guidance, venturing into the unknown. At dinner we would sit around our oval kitchen table and she would tell me about the wonderful knowledge she had attained. Our son, who usually kept to himself, interrupted my wife to ask me what had happened to my eye. I lied, and told him that I had tripped and hit my face on the table. He rarely ever spoke, and this occasion proved that he in fact, was not a mute, as I had suspected.

Thomas was always a very well behaved, young boy. He never caused any trouble, and usually kept to himself. He stood on a line between reserved and introverted. After my ex-wife abandoned me, I was left to raise Thomas alone. He was only five. The severity of the situation never changed Thomas, and he contained his composure. But not long after my divorce I began looking for a new wife, someone to take care of Thomas. And then one day I caught a glimpse of her at an old consignment shop. She was standing in the corner, a sun beam shinning on her through the shops front glass window. I knew right away that she was perfect. Now this rash impulse might have been an escape from the reality that my wife had just left me, but looking back today, I couldn’t be any happier with my decision. Thomas, on the other hand, never did warm up to her. On one occasion he even called her heartless.

As Thomas grew distant from me and my wife, we grew closer. And spending every day studying her behavior and learning styles, only strengthened our relationship. I did love my dear son, but my wife was equally as important. I would sometimes unplug her eye and bring her outside for car rides around our town; she loved getting out of the house. On one rainy evening she wanted to go out for dinner, so I made sure to cover her exposed skin, and we both got into the car. Her skin was very sensitive. The diner up the road was my favorite place to go, and the food was always great. I ordered a hamburger with fries and a diet coke. She didn’t order anything. A tall, thin man entered the building, glancing in my direction, and then walking over to our table.

“Can I have a word with you” he asked in a light voice?

I stood up and followed him as he led the way to the diner’s bathroom. He reached for the doorknob and gave it a yank. The door was locked. Before he could say anything else I blurted out a word

“What…”

He looked at me confused. I don’t even know why I said that. I was afraid. I didn’t know who this man was, or what he wanted from me. And now I was making myself appear as a fool.

“What do you want from me” I mumbled? Completing my unfinished ramble.

“It’s about your wife” he replied.

“My wife” I stuttered? “What does she have to this with this? She’s innocent I swear, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Calm down Mr. Byrd” he said solemnly. “People in the town have seen you bring her out for car rides. She’s very odd. Now, I don’t mean to insult you, but that kind of behavior is just not…”

I interrupted him before he could continue. “How do you know my name?”

“Everyone knows your name” he chuckled a bit. “You’re all the gossip in town. The people think you’ve gone mad.”

“Are you trying to take her away from me” I shouted! “I’ve worked far too long and far too hard to watch my whole world get taken away!”

I stormed past him, and ran towards the dining room. He reached for my arm to hold me back but it was too late. She was gone! The diner was still bustling with waitresses and customers, but the only thing I could notice was the empty booth where we had just been sitting only a few moments ago.

“Where is she” I screamed, falling down to my knees!

“She’s gone” he replied quietly. “It’s only business.”

“Only business” I asked turning my head to view him? “Maybe if it was your wife, you’d understand exactly which trigger you’ve pulled!”

In one swift movement, I grabbed a knife from the nearest table, and pounced on the man. He fell to the ground as I stabbed the knife into his arm.

“Where have you taken her” I yelled!

He cried out in pain as I repeated “Where have you taken her”!

The customers began to jump from their seats and run to the exit. The employees ran to the back of the kitchen.

“You’re son…” he muttered. “He’s been taken away too”.

I took a firmer grip on the knife’s handle, and began to twist it, opening up his wound. He screeched out in pain, and tried to pull me off of him. I was too heavy, and his thin arms were very weak.

“Why are you doing this” I cried? “Where have you taken them”?

The man continued to stare at me, and I realized I wasn’t going to get any information. A large man wearing a cook’s apron then charged through the kitchen doors and ran over to me. He was holding a shotgun, and he pointed it directly at my temple.

The man examined me for a moment. It seemed like he was contemplating what to do next.

“Please sir, I swear”.

“Get off of him” he replied in a harsh voice.

I stood up and slowly backed away, keeping my hand above my head. He followed me with his shotgun until I was about ten feet away from him. He then bent over near the wounded man and began to speak to him. After a few brief moments he approached me. Without a word he pulled out a small notepad and wrote something down.

“Here take this” he whispered tearing the page from his notepad. “I talked to that man you were attacking and he gave me two addresses. He said something about them being at two separate locations. Now get out of my shop before the police arrive.”

What an odd thing to do? Why would that man give me the addresses after I had attacked him? Was he giving up? Was it a trap? I should have killed him. I didn’t have time to over think this. My body was running on pure adrenaline. I ran out of the diner and glared down the road. The parking lot was empty and I could hear the sirens from the distant police. I quickly read the addresses: 546 Village Drive, and 563 Stadium Avenue. I needed to find them, and I knew exactly who I was going to find first. My dear…..

To Be Continued…

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/a-loss-of-four-part-one/feed/1wideawakepastmybedtimeFrench Cuisine Recipe – Ratatouillehttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/french-cuisine-recipe-ratatouille/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/french-cuisine-recipe-ratatouille/#respondMon, 10 Nov 2014 23:49:45 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=48Continue reading →]]>Hello all! Wow, it’s been a long while since I’ve blogged so I thought I might as well start some new categories such as cooking! As I cook certain recipes I will be posting them here along with step by step instructions. So today I made a classic French recipe, Ratatouille. I’m sure a lot of you have seen the great Pixar movie, but the dish depicted in the movie isn’t the actual thing. It’s actually a Turkish dish that shares many of the same ingredients and flavor, but the real Ratatouille is actually a stew. So first let’s go over the ingredients you will need!

Ingredients

– 1 Eggplant

– 2 Green Squash

-2 Zucchini

– 6 Tomatoes

-4 Bell Peppers (red, orange, yellow, and green)

-6 Cloves of Garlic

– Coriander Seeds

-Bouquet Garni (consisting of Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil)

Alright, so first off you’re going to want to chop all of your veggies into equal pieces. Then peel the 6 cloves of garlic. Take a large pot and put some oil at the bottom, throw in your garlic, some salt, pepper, and about a handful of Coriander seeds. Make sure to keep the burner on a very low setting as you let the garlic toast. Then throw in all of the chopped vegetables, and lay the bouquet garni on top. If you don’t know what a bouquet garni is I’ll clarify real quick. It’s a bunch of herbs either wrapped in cheese cloth or tied with cooking string. Next, sprinkle a good amount of oil, salt,and pepper, and then cover with a lid. Keep the burner on a very low setting this whole time. Now you just have to wait! Leave it on this low setting for about 2 hours, and when you return you’ll have yourself a colorful and hearty pot of stew.

This recipe is very simple, and a great meal for a cold winter day. You can eat it by itself as a stew, or even put it over pasta or rice. Try this recipe, and tell me what you think. Also if you have any suggestions or tweaks from your personal Ratatouille recipe, leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading!

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/french-cuisine-recipe-ratatouille/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeCalvinism Vs. Arminianism (Part 3.)https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-3/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-3/#respondThu, 28 Aug 2014 03:35:54 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=41Continue reading →]]>Hey everyone! Hope you’re all having a great week. As you might have noticed, I did not post a SciFi novel update this week. Sorry, I’ve been really, really busy, working a lot. But now I’m going to finish up this Calvinism Vs. Arminianism series, and talk about The Lamb’s Book of Life. As you might know Calvinist believe that there are two books, “The Lambs Book of Life”, and “The Book of Life”. We’re going to crack this case open using a bunch of scripture, so let’s get to it!

A Calvinist Perspective

The Calvinist believe that there are two books, “The Book of Life”, and “The Lamb’s Book of Life”. This theory is needed to support their belief of OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved). Psalms 69:28 says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous”. This verse alone throws out the idea of once saved only saved if in fact your name can be erased from the book of life. That is why the Calvinist came up with the explanation that there are two books. “The Lamb’s Book of Life”, which is the list of the redeemed, and “The Book of Life”, which is a universal record of man. Now there are some verses that refer to “The Book of Life” (Rev. 3:5, 13:18, 17:8, 20:15, 22:19, and Phil. 4:13) while there are other references to “The Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev 13:8, and 21:27 ) Now notice in all of these verses that speak of “The Lamb’s Book of Life” notice that Lamb’s is spelled apostrophe “s”. In the English language an apostrophe shows possession. Now Daniel 7:10 does say “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened“, but there are only two verses in the entire bible that mention two books. The other is Rev. 20:12.

The Arminian Perspective

The Arminians on the other side believe that there are two books. One being the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (which is the same as “The Book of Life”) and then there’s a second book which holds the records of all men. They say that there is no evidence of two books of life. Well let’s talk about that.

Honestly I don’t understand how the Calvinist come up with these ideas. Well I understand how, I don’t understand why people buy it. Why would they assume there are two books of life just because it’s named differently. Examine the two titles The Lamb’s Book of Life, and The Book of Life. “Lamb’s” is possessive, and we know that it is Christ’s book so, how can you say they are different? It’s the same thing as saying “that’s a pencil”, and “that’s Michael’s pencil”. There aren’t two pencils! You cannot stretch the meaning of scripture to fit your theology, and if you’re theology is not based off of scripture, then your theology is false. Then we come across this verse, Exodus 32:32-33,”Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book”. BOOM! There’s some major evidence that your name can in fact be blotted out of The Book of Life. So that throws OSAS out the window, but wait, it doesn’t because you believe that there are two books…. Well I’ve shown you the evidence that disproves two separate books of life, so if you go ahead and accept that, then you will also have to accept that OSAS is a false teaching.

I hope that you will really research this topic and pray about it. This is only what I have come to after studying the verses on both sides, I can’t force you to believe anything, you have to come to that conclusion yourself. Have a good week everyone! Next weeks topic is sure to stir up some conversation.

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-3/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeCalvinism Vs. Arminianism (Part 2.)https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-2/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-2/#commentsTue, 12 Aug 2014 03:50:18 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=34Continue reading →]]>On my last post I got over 50 comments on Reddit, and everyone was discussing the topic. I think it’s really cool the community of both Calvinist and Arminians talking about this, but don’t get too argumentative guys;). Anyways I really appreciate everyone’s input, on both sides, and at the end of this blog I’m going to respond to some of the comments. It’s going to be a new, short section called “The Rebuttal”. But before that we’re going to go over “Total Depravity”, and “Perseverance of the Saints”. If you haven’t read my first blog on Calvinism vs. Arminianism, make sure to go back and read part 1. Alright, Let’s dive in!

Okay, so “Total Depravity”, and “Perseverance of the Saints” are the T. and P. of the acronym T.U.L.I.P. I’m sorry this might be confusing because I didn’t cover the letters in order. In Part 1 I talked about “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, and “Irresistible Grace”. Now I’m covering the two remaining “Total Depravity, and “Perseverance of the Saints” (I made this way more complicated then it has to be..).

1. Total Depravity – Now the Calvinist believe that man is completely sinful in every way (thoughts, actions, ecs.). They take it to the extreme that man is so sinful that he is incapable of choosing to follow Christ. This builds their case of election, and goes hand in hand with the idea of God choosing you. The verses they use to reinforce this are instances where man shows his true sinful nature. I think Romans 3:10-12 is good evidence of that. The Arminians say that even though man was affected by the fall, God is gracious, and gives us a chance to change our ways and follow the light.

2. Perseverance of the Saints – This is a really simple concept so there’s not much to say about it, but there are verses that seem to agree with both sides. So it can be hard to decide which you believe. Calvinist believe OSAS (Once saved, always saved). If you are one of the chosen elected, then you will never be able to lose your salvation. While the Arminians on the other side believe that you can lose your salvation, if you fall away from the faith. This is really one of those mysteries in the Bible that we will probably never understand. John 10:27-28 says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”. And then there are verses like Matthew 10:22 “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”. If as a believer we must stand firm, and hold on to the faith, doesn’t that imply that it can be lost?

Alrighty, time for my opinion:). I know you all love hearing me rant.. So let me get this straight, because man is inherently sinful this means that we aren’t able to make a decision? If we can decide to be sinful, can’t we also decide to follow Christ? It’s a two-way street! To me this just seems like an excuse Calvinist use, because without “Total Depravity”; “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, and Irresistable Grace” have no foundation to stand on. Just because we are born completely sinful, doesn’t mean we are incapable of making choices. Perseverance of the Saints is something that’s a little more complicated. There are verses backing up both sides so what do you do? The Bible never contradicts itself, so we must be interpreting something wrong. I personal think that if you are truly saved you will not lose your salvation, but people are sinful and do slip away. If you are truly saved you will realize how stupid it is to choose the world and sin over Christ and eternal life, and hopefully you’ll return to the faith. That’s just me guessing though.

The Rebuttal: Alright so everything in quotation marks are comments made by people on Reddit. Below each quote, I will write a short point defending my case and above it is a statement I made that the person is arguing against. Here we go!

1. If God has chosen the elect, then what is the purpose of the great commission?

“To inform God’s people of what their savior has accomplished on their behalf.”

Honesty, I don’t even get this. If we’re proclaiming the gospel to unsaved people that’s pretty much pointless because they’re not elected. If we’re proclaiming the gospel to somebody whose elect but maybe hasn’t accepted Christ yet, sure maybe you could be the person to first share the word with him, but why care? If he doesn’t hear it from you, he’s bound to hear the gospel somewhere else. I mean it’s going to happen anyways, right? This way of thinking really cheapens missions work, and preaching.

2. What’s the point of spreading the gospel, or reaching out to a lost friend?

“Just because something lacks the purpose of providing eternal salvation doesn’t mean that it lacks any purpose whatsoever.”

Then what is the point? You’re pretty much saying, just because these people can never be saved, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t preach to them.

3. If God chooses the elect, wouldn’t that also mean that He chooses who goes to hell?

“He has mercy on some, and leaves others to the righteous punishment they deserve for their sin (Romans 9:14-16).”

What?… Why exactly are only those people being punished? We are all sinners, and we all deserve death. So why are only certain people being punished for their sins, while others get a free pass? Jesus died for the sins of anyone who accepts His as their savior (Romans 10:13).

4. And that would also mean the the people who aren’t elect are forced into hell. They don’t even have a chance!

“They do have a chance to repent, they just choose to rebel against God and refuse to repent and give glory to Him.”

What?! According to Calvinism they don’t have a chance to repent, if they’re not chosen then oh well, guess you didn’t make it .

5. They aren’t the elect, which means they’re just a lost cause destined for destruction.

“Every person who goes to Hell is there because of their own doing. God is perfectly righteous in his decision to send people to Hell and we shouldn’t question his judgment.”

Nobody’s questioning God’s judgement we all deserve hell, but don’t say that it’s their own doing when you’re theology doesn’t even support free will.

I hope no one is offended by what I am saying. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and we can agree to disagree on topics such as these. Make sure to comment any biblical evidence you have supporting either side, and next week I’ll be doing part 3, closing off the series and responding to the remaining comments.

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-2/feed/2wideawakepastmybedtimeCalvinism Vs. Arminianism (Part 1.)https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-1/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-1/#commentsSat, 09 Aug 2014 08:32:33 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=30Continue reading →]]>Oh joy, I’m sure this blog is going the create a lot of controversy, but I’m here to speak my mind, and I don’t care what anyone says or thinks. Election is a touchy topic, and for centuries people on both sides have been discussing and examining the biblical evidence, but we still haven’t reached any conclusions. There are verses defending both points, and it’s one of those topics that isn’t black and white.

1. First we have Calvinism ( also called the reformed faith or reformed tradition). Calvinism is a biblical interpretation taught by John Calvin. There are five major points which make up the acronym: T.U.L.I.P.

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

Now this is a lot to talk about so for this blog I’m only going over “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement” and “Irresistible Grace”. As stated in Calvinism, God does not chose the elect according to anything we as humans are able to do but instead chooses for the intention of His will (Eph. 1:4). That is “Unconditional Election”. They also go on to say that Jesus only died for the elect, and even though His sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was only bore for those elected (Matt. 26:28). That is “Limited Atonement”. Finally they claim that those who are the chosen elect cannot resist. God offers all people the gospel message, “external call”, but only the elect receive an “internal call” (Romans 9:16), which is “Irresistible Grace”. There are other verses used to defend these points, but the ones I referenced are what I think is the best evidence they’ve got.

2. Now onto Arminianism, the theology of Jacobus Arminius. There are also five points, but I don’t think there’s an acronym, and I’m only going to cover the three points which oppose “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, and “Irresistible Grace”. The first one opposes “Unconditional Election” and states that God did elect certain individuals, but this is based on his foreknowledge that they would follow his call. Secondly, opposing “Limited Atonement”, Arminianism states that Christ died for everyone, but only those who accept are saved. And finally, the Holy Spirit calls all internally through the external hearing of the gospel, but the person must decide to follow Christ. This opposes the Calvinist point “Irresistible Grace”.

Guess what? Now it’s time for me to rant:)! P.S. It’s 3am right now, so I’m in my crazy night owl mood.

I just don’t get it! I agree with Arminianism, and I just don’t get Calvinism. If God chooses the elect, wouldn’t that also mean that he choose who goes to hell? Would God really predestined the people He created to eternal suffering? Now if you ask a Calvinist that, they’ll say “We all are sinners, and all deserve hell.”, and I agree with that. But my biggest problem is this. If God has chosen those elect and those who aren’t, then what is the purpose of the great commission? Matthew 4:19, “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What’s the point of spreading the gospel, or reaching out to a lost friend, if in the end, if they’re elect it doesn’t matter, they’ll find their way to Christ no matter what, because they’ve been chosen. And that would also mean the the people who aren’t elect are forced into hell. They don’t even have a chance! They aren’t the elect, which means they’re just a lost cause destined for destruction.

Don’t get me wrong, though I do disagree with the Calvinist, I am not bashing them. This is one of those things that we will never get to the bottom of, but I don’t think we need to. I truly think that all of this theology gets in the way of pure bible. Just study God’s word, and live your life according to it.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/calvinism-vs-arminianism-part-1/feed/2wideawakepastmybedtimeSciFi Novel Week Four: Slackerhttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/scifi-novel-week-four-slacker/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/scifi-novel-week-four-slacker/#respondFri, 08 Aug 2014 23:41:54 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/scifi-novel-week-four-slacker/Continue reading →]]>Ahhh! Friday came so quick this week. I haven’t gotten a chance to work on my book at all since the last update, partially because my computer wasn’t working, but it’s been fixed now. I have no excuse:p Anyways, guess what! The gas mask came in the mail today! I’m thinking about doing a twelve hour challenge where I’ll have to wear the mask for twelve hours to really get into character. It’s really legit, and awesome looking, but very heavy, and I was sweating after wearing it for only a few minutes. The lenses also fog up very easily. It’s from the Czech Republic so I can’t read any of the instructions, and it came with some filters, and a drinking tube.

Now I admit I have been slacking a bit this week, sometimes I don’t feel very inspired, and sometimes I’m really inspired and get up at three a.m. to write a bunch. This week I am definitely going to work on finishing up chapter three, so wish me luck! I bid you all farewell.

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/scifi-novel-week-four-slacker/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeSciFi Novel Week Three: Mood Settinghttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/scifi-novel-week-three-mood-setting/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/scifi-novel-week-three-mood-setting/#respondFri, 01 Aug 2014 19:15:48 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=20Continue reading →]]>Hey everyone, happy Friday! So Saturday I spent the day writing, and I finished chapter two. This week I’ve finished about 2000 words for chapter three, but I still have a lot to write before this chapter is finished. The first two chapters give a little background of the characters as they first meet each other, and the main character has flashbacks to his childhood. But the third chapter opens with them landing on the planet’s surface, and things start to get spooky. So lets talk about mood setting.

I definitely wanted a dark aspect to the book, but you never want to over do it, because then it ends up sounding cheesy. You want to make the eeriness as real as possible. To set the dark mood I use the characters senses. Pretend it was you, and write down everything you see, hear, and smell around you. Then go eternally, what is the character feeling; fear, anxiety, panic? If you were in the circumstances of your character how would you feel? Another thing I like to do is listen to music while writing. It really helps me get inspired (I love aggressive punk music, so it’s perfect for angry/sad themes). Now the most important thing is, make sure not to always be dark! You don’t want your book to be a miserable tale that ends in sadness. Everyone loves a happy ending, so give your character some hope. There’s always a perfect balance of the two opposing emotions.

Alright well I hope this helped any writers out there, and feel free to comment about any techniques you use when writing. Later this week I’ll be hopefully posting another blog post, about something theological. Until then, have a great weekend everyone.

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/scifi-novel-week-three-mood-setting/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeThe Phantom Time Hypothesishttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/the-phantom-time-hypothesis/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/the-phantom-time-hypothesis/#respondTue, 29 Jul 2014 17:35:21 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=16Continue reading →]]>Now I know I promised theology, but I stumbled upon this really interesting topic! I was browsing YouTube and I found myself stranded in the weird side of town, where cats fart rainbows and Russian guys explode stuff. Amongst all the chaos I found a video about this “conspiracy” theory, and it was pretty entertaining. So here we go, “The Phantom Time Hypothesis”!
Alright, so in 1986 a German historian named Heribert Illig started developing a theory, which stated that the years AD 614-911 never existed. Now I’ll explain how he came to this conclusion.
In 1582 Pope Gregory created the calendar we use today by correcting the original Julian calendar which was created by Julius Caesar. See, the Julian calendar was created in 46 BC and since then it lost approximately one day each century. When Gregory corrected it he should have added thirteen days because thirteen centuries had passed, but instead he added ten. Therefore Illig says that Pope Gregory knew that three centuries never even happened. Illig also points to the scare archeological and written evidence from the dark ages.
Historians argue that events like eclipses can be accurately dated to the time that medieval records mention. Therefore records from China synchronize with European events. They also say Gregory only added ten days because he wanted to match the date with the official date of Easter (Agreed in the council of Nicaea in AD 325). But guess what, all critics have admitted that this theory still cannot be disproved.
Now me personally I don’t believe this, I just thought it was pretty interesting. If this was true it would mess up the timeline so much. Today would not be 2014, but instead 1717. This would change all the dates from past events! The opposing argument definitely has more facts backing it up, but it’s up to you to decide what you believe. The world may never know!

-M.A.Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/the-phantom-time-hypothesis/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeSciFi Novel Week Two: Writers Blockhttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/scifi-novel-week-two-writers-block/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/scifi-novel-week-two-writers-block/#respondFri, 25 Jul 2014 18:03:47 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=13Continue reading →]]>Happy Friday everyone! Time for a quick SciFi novel update.
So I’ve made some progress on chapter two, though it’s not completely finished. I’m hoping I’ll get some time to write tonight when I get home from work. I have not purchased the gas mask yet, but I have decided, I most definitely will be buying one.
Now to talk about one of the greatest, if not the greatest struggle for a writer. Writers block! Ahhh it kills me. I want to get some writing done, but it just feels weird, it lacks luster. That’s when I need to get inspired. Maybe go for a walk, or hangout with a friend. Just take a break from the drawing board, and collect new ideas. So far I haven’t had any writers block, but we all have to face it sooner or later.
I told myself I’d write another blog about something theological before the next SciFi update was due, but as usual I procrastinated. Hopefully this upcoming week I’ll get that done. Have a great weekend everyone!

-M. A. Greco

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]]>https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/scifi-novel-week-two-writers-block/feed/0wideawakepastmybedtimeSciFi Novel Week One: So Far So Goodhttps://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/scifi-novel-week-one-so-far-so-good/
https://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/scifi-novel-week-one-so-far-so-good/#respondFri, 18 Jul 2014 16:42:11 +0000http://wideawakepastmybedtime.wordpress.com/?p=11Continue reading →]]>Hey everyone! So it’s Friday, which means SciFi novel update! I surprisingly got a lot done. First I worked out some of the details, such as, planet names, galaxy names, characters, personalities, and backgrounds. Then I started writing away. I’ve finished the first chapter, and have already written some of chapter two.
I’ll tell you a little about the storyline. A crew of five members are sent to a deserted planet which was destroyed in biological warfare. Their mission is to find any new life. When on the surface they must wear protective gear, such as a gas mask. Now I was thinking about purchasing one, and wearing it all day to get into character, but I don’t know if I’m going to. We’ll find out next week.
I believe that’s all for now. I might post a few paragraphs from the first chapter later. Have a good day!